US Fidelis owners' lavish lifestyle at risk

US Fidelis co-founders Darain and Cory Atkinson and their real estate companies owe US Fidelis about $66 million, according to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing made Monday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. With their business on the ropes, the Atkinsons’ lavish lifestyles also appear at risk.

Darain Atkinson and his wife, Mia, own three homes in Lake St. Louis, according to records available from the St. Charles County Assessor’s office. They are also building a nearly 21,000-square-foot waterfront mansion there at 5 Lakeview Court reported to cost $17 million. It will be the largest home in the county when complete.

Darain Atkinson also owns a 49-foot Sea Ray yacht named “Isabella,” according to boat registration records, and various luxury cars.

Cory Atkinson and his wife, Heather, have owned a 9,000-square-foot home in Wentzville since April 2005, county assessor’s records show. Cory Atkinson is also the registered owner of a 40-foot boat named “Quick Silver.”

The Atkinsons also own “Bat Boat,” a 44-foot race boat, registered under one of US Fidelis’ previous corporate names, National Auto Warranty Services Inc.

The bankruptcy filing also lists 11 go-carts, each valued at about $5,000, as well as five racing go-carts valued at more than $7,000 each.

US Fidelis, which until recently claimed to be the nation’s largest marketer of vehicle service contracts, suspended all sales and marketing activity Dec. 29 amid a barrage of consumer complaints, government investigations and lawsuits.

The Atkinsons blamed US Fidelis’ growing number of customer contract cancellations on the economy, vocal consumer advocates and media criticism.

But US Fidelis’ troubles started brewing a few ago as consumers began filing scores and then hundreds of complaints with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) about high-pressure sales tactics, product misinformation, problems collecting payments under the company’s extended warranty contracts, and difficulties cancelling contracts and collecting refunds.

The BBB reports it has received more than 1,300 complaints about US Fidelis in the past three years and gives the company a “F” rating on a scale of “A+” to “F.”

US Fidelis spokesman Ken Fields of the Fleishman-Hillard public relations firm noted that the BBB’s log of complaints are kept on a rolling three-year basis and that almost all of the complaints have been resolved in a timely manner. The BBB’s Web site states 76 complaints against US Fidelis have not been resolved. Fields also stressed the total tally of complaints amounted to less than half of one percent of the company’s current customer base.